malnutrition

In the mountainous jungle of eastern Myanmar, a petite 24-year-old Karen woman peels back layers of white plastic and cloth wrapped around a stalk of sugar cane — a prop simulating bone, muscle and skin — before cutting it with a cable saw to practice amputation.

The exercise — part of a trauma skills workshop facilitated by CPI and our partner organization, the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) — is a stark reminder of the border region’s rampant malaria, malnutrition and conflict-related trauma, including one of the world’s highest rates of landmine injuries.

A capsule of Vitamin A reduces blindness and a child’s chance of death by one-third. Deworming medication just twice a year combats malnutrition and improves a child’s cognitive capacities. Like immunizations, these are simple, effective and low cost interventions that greatly improve family and community health.